Shloka 23

Nārāyaṇasya Guhya-nāmāni Niruktāni (Etymologies of Nārāyaṇa’s Secret Epithets) / नारायणस्य गुह्यनामानि निरुक्तानि

Devanagari script

गुणसज्रजेष्वनासक्त एकचर्यारत: सदा । ब्राह्मणो नचिरादेव सुखमायात्यनुत्तमम्‌,जो ब्राह्मण त्रिगुणात्मक विषयोंमें आसक्त न होकर सदा एकान्तवास करता है, वह शीघ्र ही सर्वोत्तम सुखरूप मोक्षको प्राप्त कर लेता है

Transliteration

guṇasaṃsargeṣv anāsakta ekacaryārataḥ sadā | brāhmaṇo na cirād eva sukham āyāty anuttamam ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: „Ein Brāhmaṇa, der inmitten der Berührungen mit den Guṇas und ihren Gegenständen unangehaftet bleibt und stets dem einsamen, disziplinierten Leben hingegeben ist, erlangt bald das unübertreffliche Glück — die Befreiung selbst.“

Word by Word

गुणसर्जेषुin the creations/manifestations of the guṇas

अनासक्तःdetached, unattached

एकचर्यारतःdevoted to solitary conduct (living alone)

सदाalways

ब्राह्मणःa brāhmaṇa

नnot

चिरात्after a long time; long-delayed

एवindeed, certainly

सुखम्happiness; bliss

आयातिattains, reaches

अनुत्तमम्unsurpassed, supreme

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

brāhmaṇa

guṇas (sattva-rajas-tamas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Non-attachment to guṇa-driven experiences, combined with steady solitary discipline (ekacaryā), leads quickly to the highest bliss—mokṣa. The verse emphasizes inner freedom and sustained practice over external identity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Nārada is presenting an ascetic ideal: a brāhmaṇa-aspirant who lives in seclusion and remains unattached even while encountering worldly conditions attains the supreme goal.